


Bad  Day

by Rookblonkorules



Category: Shazam! (2019)
Genre: Billy Batson Needs a Hug, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, PTSD, Panic Attacks, Protective Rosa Vasquez, Rosa is the literal best, Trauma, Victor is too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2020-01-20 16:24:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18528739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rookblonkorules/pseuds/Rookblonkorules
Summary: Billy has a panic attack while out with Rosa.Or in which Thaddeus Sivana isn't the only bald guy in a black jacket and that really sucks.





	Bad  Day

“Hmmm, what about this one?” Rosa holds up one shirt for his inspection.

“It’s… uh, it’s nice.”

Rosa purses her lips. “It’s very red.”

Billy grins. “I like red.” And maybe it’s a bit of a joke considering his- or Captain Sparklefingers’ (Freddy really needs to come up with a better name)- costume.

Rosa hums, looking over it once more. “Alright,” she says. “If you like it.”

Okay- so maybe part of him is relishing Freddy’s incoming frustration when they get home.  _ “Dude, get yourself an Aquaman shirt already!” _

But he does. He likes it.

“Yeah, it’s, uh…” he shrugs. “Favorite color.”

She smiles, draping it over her arm. “Well, it looks very nice on you, Billy.”

Billy blushes. “Oh… well, thanks.” He’ll admit it.  He’d been apprehensive when Rosa announced that she wanted to spend time, just the two of them, purchasing him some new clothes. He’d been worried- worried that she’d be just like everyone else. That the added expense would be too much for them and he’d find himself back on the streets.  Or in the home. 

He wonders if this is what it’s like to have a mom, to have a  _ real  _ mom, when his stomach growls.

Loudly.

“Well, it sounds like,” Rosa nudges him playfully, “somebody is hungry for lunch.” 

And he wants to protest, because he really,  _ really  _ doesn’t want her spending any more money on him. 

She takes his arm, gently guiding him away. “Lucky for you, there’s a perfect…”   
And then he sees him.

Black coat. Shaved head.

Billy suddenly can’t breathe. 

He stops dead in his tracks. 

He can feel Rosa’s hand still on his arm. He’s sure she’s saying his name in confusion- and probably in concern- but all he can focus on is… is  _ him. _

Sivana’s back is turned. He’s browsing through the movies. He hasn’t seen them yet.

There’s still time.

He can get Rosa out of here.

“Rosa,” he chokes out. He grips her hand. “Rosa, we have to… we have to leave. Now. Right now!”

“Billy? What’s frightened you? What is it?” Rosa grips his hand, scanning the crowd, but she can’t see the threat. Of course, she can’t. Sivana looks just like anyone else. Until he turns his head.

But it doesn’t… it doesn’t make any sense. How could Sivana be  _ here? _ He’d pulled the demon ball from his eye himself, imprisoned the Seven Deadly Sins all over again. Sivana is supposed to be in  _ prison. _

How could he be  _ here? _

“Billy?” Rosa is sounding more and more urgent. More frantic.

But he can’t… he can’t deal with her concern. He needs to get her  _ out _ of here before anything can happen. Before Sivana can notice them.

He’s trotting away, very nearly  _ running _ , held back only by the fact that Rosa still has his hand and he isn’t about to leave her behind.

He doesn’t want to see anyone else hurt to get to him. 

Billy turns one corner, then another, with no sense of direction. Only the knowledge that he needs to get away, that he needs to get  _ Rosa, _ as far, far away as he can. 

He’s hyperventilating. He can’t get enough air into his lungs and all he can hear is the  _ thumpthumpthump _ of his heart pounding in his ears. 

He turns another corner and then-

“ _ Billy!” _

Sometime between the then and now, he’s stopped, he realizes. Sank to the floor with his head in his hands. 

Rosa is hovering above him, hands on his arms, her eyes wide and scared. Scared for  _ him.  _ Which- no. That isn’t right. She needs to…  _ Sivana. _

Billy gasps, grasping at her arms.  _ Rosa, you need to get out of here. You need to go. _

But all that comes out is, “Rosa.” His voice sounds strangled- even to his own ears. 

“Billy, it’s alright.” She’d looked so afraid for him, but her voice is gentle, firm. A lifeline for him to latch onto. “It’s alright.”   
No. No, it’s not. Not if Sivana finds them. Not if…

“You had a panic attack. It’s alright. It’s alright. You’re alright.”

Panic attack… He’s having a…

Oh.  _ Oh.  _

Sivana isn’t… He’s still… He can’t hurt them. He can’t hurt any of them.

“Billy! Whatever you remembered- whatever happened to you- it’s not here. You’re safe.” She lets his arms go, instead taking one of his hands in both of hers, rubbing small circles over the back with her thumb. “You’re safe.”

He’s trembling, he realizes. Violently so. 

There are people hovering nearby. He can’t tell how many. But it seems… it seems like a lot?

His cheeks burn when he realizes that he’s the center of their attention.

It’s humiliating. To say the least.

He’s an actual superhero with actual superpowers.

He isn’t supposed to fall to pieces in some mall to be gawked at by strangers. 

“Billy.” Rosa’s voice draws him back to her. She’s still got his hand clasped in one of hers, but the other is on his shoulder. “Are you with me?” she asks him softly.

Billy opens his mouth to respond, but his throat feels dry. He nods instead.

Slowly, Rosa wraps her arm around Billy’s shoulder, letting him lean on her as he climbs back to his feet.

“Shhhh,” she murmurs into his hair. “Shhh. It’s alright, baby. It’s alright.”

Billy cringes away from the people around them, hiding his face against her shoulder. 

Rosa snaps, “My  _ son _ is not your spectacle!”

Here’s the thing. People listen to Rosa. People  _ listen  _ to Rosa.

Now is no different.

It’s almost astonishing how fast the people clear away.

Or it would have been if Billy hadn’t already  _ known.  _

Rosa pulls him a little closer. “Come on, baby. Let’s get you home.”

And home… home sounds nice right about now.

....

He’s lying on his bunk when the door to the room he and Freddy share clicks open. 

Billy doesn’t turn his head, but he has a pretty good idea of who it is who just entered regardless.

“Hey, bud.” It’s Victor’s soft voice and now Billy does turn his head. When he does, he sees that Rosa is right behind him.

“Rosa told me what happened at the mall today.”

Of course she did. Is that a… is that a mom thing?

Billy swallows thickly. Maybe at another time, he would have felt angry, betrayed, at having such a vulnerable moment  _ shared, _ but at present, he’s too exhausted, too drained, to feel anything at that revelation.

And besides, it’s… it’s Rosa. And he doesn’t think he can be mad at her. 

“Oh,” he whispers. He sniffs, realizing that… maybe he owes Rosa, owes both of them, some sort of explanation for what he put her through. “It was… that guy. In the jacket. I thought…” The muscles in his throat clench and he has to swallow… hard… before he’s able to speak again. “I thought he was someone else,” he finishes in a near whisper. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Victor asks him softly.

Billy shakes his head. Neither one of them pushes it. He’s grateful for that. He doesn’t think he could handle being pushed right now. 

He’s mortified, instead, to feel something wet and warm dripping down his cheek. He reaches up quickly to wipe it away, but the damage has already been done.

Rosa is at his side in an instant. “Oh, honey.” She reaches out, giving his shoulder a firm squeeze. 

“M’fine.” Billy scrubs at both his eyes. “I’m fine,” he gasps out. “Please, I just… I just need to… be alone.”

Rosa’s hand withdraws from his arm and Billy almost cringes back in shame. He’s afraid he’s hurt her, made her angry. Here they are, trying to do something nice for him, and what does he do other than tell them both to go away?

He opens his mouth to apologize, but when he meets Rosa’s eyes, he sees nothing there but understanding. 

“Alright, Billy,” she says softly. She reaches up, brushing his hair away from his forehead. She exchanges a look with Victor. “You need time to process this. It’s alright. We understand. We’ve been there. Just… come to us when you’re ready?”

Billy nods, blinking back the tears that threaten to burst forth at the sudden flood of warmth in his chest.

“Okay.”

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so... I didn't think I would be able to touch this fandom again until I finished some of my other projects, but this... literally just... attacked me. While I was sitting there minding my own business. And it wouldn't let me go until I had finished it all in one go.


End file.
